Letterpress love: Menus for Chez Panisse

Ahh, the world of letterpress shines again. Menus for Chez Panisse is a visual record of forty years of food, love, and appreciation for fine printing. In this unbelievable collection of letterpress menus printed by Patricia Curtan, you will find images of hand carved linoleum block illustrations and lead type text describing the mouthwatering ingredients from the early days of Chez Panisse. In the early 1970s when Alice Waters first opened the iconic Berkeley restaurant, Patricia printed the menus. by hand. for years. and we are gushing.

It's almost painful to imagine how many restaurants treat menus these days, when Alice Waters presented her guests with hand printed art at their dinner plate. It just goes to show how a nice quality menu really enhances the dining experience!

Be sure to purchase your own copy of Menus for Chez Panisse here or here.

Photos from Mint

Lucky Friday #29! Esther Aarts is our Cup of Tea!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the twenty-ninth edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Emily Masters, Whitney and Ayana!

We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Good Show card.

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Cup of Tea Artist: Esther Aarts Inspiration: Two cups Cubism and a dash of Deco, steeped deeply in Esther's brew of brilliance. Who to send it to: A friend with whom you'd love to share a cup, a potter you wish to invite to sup, an herbalist on your list, or a tea lover you hope will be THE lover. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: "You're the cream in my coffee, the spice in my cider, the lime in my lager, the malt in my milk, the rocks in my scotch, the twist in my tonic, the juniper in my gin..." we couldn't figure out how to end it (let alone, draw it!?) Favorite detail: We're tickled pink by how many hearts she has hidden. Why Letterpress? Such fine stationery suits Esther's style to a tea.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Prairie Collective is an SF favorite

We're sure all you blog lovers out there are familiar with Design*Sponge's Friday column, "We Like it Wild." Here in San Francisco, we love it wild. Fortunately, we have access to the most creative wild collectors in the area! To continue with the ecological theme, we're thrilled to shine a little light on the crew behind the scenes.

Local shop Prairie Collective provides top quality floral arrangements, and home & personal accessories - one location, two businesses. What we love most is their use of natural, raw materials and clean presentations. Studio Choo, the floral purveyor, is the collaboration of Alethea and Jill, friends and florists with an eye for design. They are also the authors of We Like it Wild, and get to scour the land for beautiful, naturally grown plants.

What is the perfect pair to your green accessories? Jewelry, of course! Magpie and Rye is the home & body accessory portion that stocks some incredible geometric and organic style pieces. What we're loving right now? Arrows & stones! They also have stunning home products that will add a bold touch to your space.

Check out more from Studio Choo and Magpie and Rye online, or go visit them at Prairie Collective, 262 Divisadero St. in San Francisco!

You Say Tomato, I say Tomato!

It's no secret that our Hello!Lucky employees are naturally gifted in the cooking department. We're always ooing and awing over the savory snacks and sweet treats that are brought in to the studio for lunch or to share. And there is no better way to bring fresh ingredients to the mix than by hand selecting them straight from the farm! Last weekend Lillian and Anna had the once-a-year opportunity to visit Eatwell Farms, a family run farm in Dixon, California for their annual Tomato Saucing/Canning Party, and boy was it worth the hard work!

We first picked the most ripened tomatoes and washed them up in a big bucket. We sliced the tomatoes and boiled them until the skin was soft and peel-able. It truly was a test of patience - we could have eaten them all raw!

Placement is key at an event like this. Being first time canning goers, we needed to scout for the canners that knew their stuff. Luckily our table mates were professionals and came with state-of-the-art canning equipment, and were nice enough to share! This device rotates using a hand drill, peeling the skin and sifting the seeds, leaving a nice puree sauce.

After the sauce was strained through cheesecloth, it was ready to be boiled and canned! We couldn't believe how bright the reds and persimmons of the sauce were. And the farm provided fresh bundles of basil to add to the flavor. Can't you just smell the herbs from here??

Living in the Bay Area definitely come with its perks. One of the most special is being in such a close vicinity to homegrown fruits and vegetables. As a special treat, we both took home a basket full of prime ripened heirloom tomatoes, the cream of the crop!

Thanks Eatwell Farms for hosting such a fun and educational event! We'll definitely be back next year!

If you're interested in joining the Eatwell CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) click here!

Real Wedding: Kathleen and Seth

Since we often meet couples in the first stages of their wedding plans, its always such a thrill to see how it all comes together in the end.  The adorable Kathleen and Seth were married at Barndiva in Healdsburg, California and our Heartland wedding invitation suite coordinated perfectly with the rustic elegance of the celebration.

We'd love to have this dapper group of young musicians at our next soiree, do they take special requests? We're in the mood for some Monday melodies!

You can find more images of the wedding here!

All photos by Matt Edge Photography

Lucky Friday # 28, Good Show!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the twenty-eighth edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Lisa, Denise and Jessica N!

We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Barrow o' Bananas card.

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Good Show

Artist: Eunice Moyle

Inspiration: Considering the artistic acrobatics and feats of strength, skill and endurance that go into putting on a Good Show, a fine card is a fitting reward.

Who to send it to: A lovely lion-tamer, a serious sword swallower, a truly talented trapeze artist, or a high-lonesome singer out on the circuit.

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We thought of entitling it "Break a Leg," but that was too risky!

Favorite detail: The dainty, teeny feet of the daring, dashing trick rider.

Why letterpress? Why, no other method would suitably show the fineries of such a dashing an Edwardian equestrian.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Big Day's big feature in The Knot!

Hello!Lucky's Big Day invitation was recently featured in The Knot and we couldn't be more proud!

The classic black, white, red and gold color scheme pairs perfectly with the old world grandeur of San Francisco's City Hall, the setting of Courtney and Ethan's fabulously chic wedding.

Things we adore: crimson peep toe pumps with sleek black dresses, tiny red velvet cupcakes, bouquets of hot pink and orange blooms, the Golden Gate bridge icon on our San Francisco Skyline Menu and Place Cards... and did we mention red velvet cupcakes?

All photos by Michelle Walker Photography

Pomp & Plumage visits H!L

Happy Monday everyone!  We've been busily rearranging and organizing our storefront lately and we're so excited to have a place to show off new products and really welcome guests into our studio and shop.  As luck would have it, our window caught the eye of Denise and Ian, a remarkably talented couple from Canada who popped by on their vacation.  They own the gorgeous etsy shop Pomp & Plumage and we instantly fell in love with their handmade hair accessories and boutonnieres.

We LOVE the rustic twines and feathers mixed with bits of dainty lace and other romantic embellishments and we're already imagining them paired oh so nicely with a Naturalist themed wedding.  Be sure to check their website and Etsy shop for more fabulous creations - they even can be customized to suit any fancy!

Lucky Friday #27, Sock Monkeys Gone Bananas

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the twenty-seventh edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Lindsey M, Adele Jackson, and Echo Dannelle!

We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Sucker for You card.

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Barrow o' Bananas

Artist: Eunice Moyle

Inspiration: We could hardly think of any happier combo than barrow of bananas and a barrel of (sock) monkeys! But any monkey is bound to go bananas with a barrow all to himself!

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: A gaggle of gracious geese, An orange orangutan on a pile of oranges reading "Orange I Lucky?!"

Who to send it to: A person or primate who made your day a little (or a lot!) sweeter.

Favorite detail: Sock monkeys aren't too skilled at delayed gratification, 'twould seem.

Why letterpress? We would never monkey around with our greeting cards.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Studio Snapshot: Special Delivery!

Extra! Extra! Yesterday we received a special delivery with the soon-to-be-released September 2011 issue of Brides Magazine! We always love to browse Brides' perfectly groomed pages for inspiration and fresh ideas. The September issue is packed full of glamorous wedding gowns, delicious cakes, and smart tips to make your big day a cinch! They also included an article titled "The Ultimate Guide to Table Stationery," and we were thrilled to have a few of our designs featured.

Our Whimsy menu, Big Day place cards, and Evelyn table number shined among other amazing pieces by super-talented designers.

We always encourage creativity when preparing for a table display, and we've seen a number of beautiful arrangements in the past. Whether you choose tented place cards, personalized menus, or framed table numbers - there is always room to spruce up the presentation. Simply placing a card in a pool of jellybeans creates a playful and colorful display, like these bright pink and orange custom cards below!

The September 2011 issue will be on newsstands soon and we just know you'll love it as much as we do!

Real Wedding: Jacob and Kristen

Talk about a good ol' time! This Indiana barn wedding featured on Style Me Pretty sums up all there is about summer goodness. From yard games to lemonade, suspenders to leather boots, the rustic and fashionable details have us gushing with joy. And it's no lie that we've seen a fair share of barn venues, but never something this pristine.

It's always fun to see images of our paper products used in weddings, but it's rare that we see our Big Day inspired paddle fans in action! These lovely ladies sure know the right way to stay cool on a hot day!

All photos by Austin Warnock Photography

Lucky Friday # 26! Sucker for you.

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the twenty-sixth edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Kendra, Amanda and Camille!

We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Treat Yourself card.

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Sucker for you

Artist: Eunice Moyle

Inspiration: We’re suckers for silly puns about cephalopods.

Who to send it to: Someone you’re really stuck on, friends of the lollipop guild, a soccer lover lover who’s a sucker for psychic sea-creatures.

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: “Inking of You.” ‘Nuff said.

Favorite detail: Only an octopus could fall so heels over head!

Why Letterpress? If pressed, an romantic octopus card might get you out of (or into) a tight squeeze.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Real Wedding: Jenny and Ben

There is nothing we love more than collaborating with our clients - especially when they are as creative and inspiring as Jenny and Ben. Jenny  is a poet and artist and started the design process by bringing in some mixed media collages she had created using paint and colored papers. We took her vision and transformed it into pieces that we could reproduce for her guests; the process involved several revisions and mock-ups as we refined all the details -- it was a true artistic collaboration.

The final invitation was contained in a kraft box, whose lid we gold-leafed by hand. The box was tied with hand-braided rope made out of a variety of fabrics. The invitation itself was simple and classic - embossed in gold foil and edged in gold on duplex cotton card stock.

Included in the invitation was a prayer card that guests could decorate (it was enclosed in a muslin bag that also contained scraps of patterned papers and a glue stick).

The collages that the guests sent back with their RSVPs were pretty amazing and very creative. They were displayed on a board at the wedding for all the guests to enjoy their handiwork.

Escort cards were calligraphied by Michele Papineau and displayed with gold thread.

The venue, Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma, was decorated with brilliant hues of gold and pink.

Congrats to Jenny and Ben!! For more photos of this stunning event, please click here.

Photos by Jesse Leake and Julia Kostreva.

Studio Snapshot: Personalized Stationery

One of the many perks of working in a letterpress studio is the access to the presses (and quality printers!). Kristine and Christina both fell in love with the same personal stationery design, but put their own unique twist on the concept. Christina's version (above) features a "from the desk of" line along with a feather motif, while Kristine (below) favored a more simple approach.

Both designs were hand-printed on our 1950's Vandercook press.

Now get to those handwritten notes girls!

Inspiration:Color

Having trouble choosing a color scheme for your wedding? Look no further! Jessica, the brilliant mind behind Design Seeds, has assembled an inspiration guide for just about every color palette imaginable. There are endless pages of images and their corresponding color ways. Who knew an ice cream cone could produce some of the most ethereal (and tasty) hues!

...introducing Elliot!

There's a new babe in town! Elliot is the newest baby to join the growing H!L family and we are thrilled! Almost as adorable as Elliot's button nose is his letterpress printed birth announcement designed by our very own Anna Hurley. How cute are the worms and mushrooms?!

Welcome Elliot and congratulations Kelly & Erich!

Lucky Friday # 25, Treat Yourself to a Julia Rothman Birthday Card!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the twenty-fifth edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Mirabelle, Joseph and Mary!

We’ll contact you early next week to arrange sending your Octo Sailors card.

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Treat Yourself

Artist: Julia Rothman

Inspiration: A sugar smorgasbord from Swedish fishes to licorices, it's every designer's desire to depict the decadent-est of birthday wishes..

Who to send it to: Your sweetie, a sweet sixteen, a sweet tween or a sugarplum fairy queen (or king.)

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: A menagerie of sweet creatures living on the big rock candy mountain: Chocolate bunnies, peppermint pigs, swedish fish, licorice scotties, jelly babies, gummy bears and... a candy ass?(!)

Favorite detail: We can’t decide if it’s a box of Andes Mints or Turkish delights! And the candy corns and unicorn horns and tootsie rolls and marshmallows and… !!!!

Why Letterpress: Because that's how we print our sweet greeting cards— letterpress is the icing on the cake.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

New Uses for Paint Swatches

If you haven't seen them scattered around design blogs yet, check out these paint swatch boxes from How About Orange! What a perfect wedding favor box!

You can customize them to match your wedding colors! Oh, the possibilities...

Take a peek at their other tutorial projects here.

Sewn paint swatches as napkin/silverware holders from Sew Many Ways. These would make for an adorable table setting.

If you're really up for a challenge, try this Paint Swatch Wall Decoration from Design*Sponge! It's sure to impress!

Happy crafting!

Beautiful Brooklyn Cakes

It's hard to avoid drooling over every photo we see of amazing wedding cakes. Brides and grooms are getting so creative these days, and with all the talented bakeries in the world, almost anything is possible! Brooklyn-based Nine Cakes is just one of many talented cake designers currently creating some truly stunning (and delicious!) work.

Their cakes are fun and original, and totally scrumptious looking.

Nine Cakes is located at 155 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231. If you live in the area, check them out!

Craft inspiration from Felt & Wire

Calling all crafters! Felt and Wire is an excellent source for sprucing up your paper products and gifts. We piled a few of our favorites, but there are endless choices! Check out their shop here.

(above: Paperphine twine)

Paperfinger stamp

Top Hat tape